Its

Share on Facebook

Anonymous

#146679 Tue, 11 Oct 05 03:38 AM

In the possessie, mine, yours, his, hers, theirs when do you use its. I see it in some charts and not in others. How would it be used.

Anonymous

CalifJim

#146701 Tue, 11 Oct 05 05:24 AM

"its" is the singular form, either inanimate or indeterminate in gender.

Please take measurements of the room. Measure its height, its length, and its width.
The little dog seemed unable to stop wagging its tail.

CJ

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (17,764)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Genders

Clive

#146709 Tue, 11 Oct 05 05:39 AM

Hi,

I think the query is actually about possessive pronouns.

We can say 'This *** is mine' (or yours, his, hers, ours, theirs).

But while we can say 'This dog-dish is Fido's', can we say 'This dog-dish is its'? My Swan's Practical English Usage says there is no such pronoun.

This surprises me a bit. I can say, of a dog, 'That is its dog-dish'. I don't see why we can't then say 'That dog-dish is its'. If I heard that, it wouldn't register with me as being wrong.

Best wishes, Clive

PS what I actually wrote above was 'This (row of 4 Xes, meaning any noun) is mine'. It came out in the posted text looking rather naughty, which was not my meaning!

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (22,532)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

Possessives, Nouns, Pronouns

Klavier

#149244 Wed, 19 Oct 05 12:08 AM

Clive wrote:
This surprises me a bit. I can say, of a dog, 'That is its dog-dish'. I don't see why we can't then say 'That dog-dish is its'. If I heard that, it wouldn't register with me as being wrong.

Why not? This is very strange. You are not violating any rule. It seems logical, doesn't it?

Klavier

Joined on Thu, Sep 23 2004

Chile

Full Member (362)

"If I have seen further, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants" Isaac Newton

CalifJim

#149315 Wed, 19 Oct 05 03:34 AM

Thanks for straightening that out, Clive. I was not reading very carefully, was I?
I can't think of a case either where the pronoun "its" ever occurs. Curious.
CJ

CalifJim

Nouns, Pronouns

rishonly

#149336 Wed, 19 Oct 05 05:31 AM

I guess '***' or 'Triple X' is being filtered out.

rishonly

Joined on Sat, Mar 5 2005

KUMBAKONAM,INDIA

Contributing Member (1,781)

Regards, Krish

Vorpar

#149428 Wed, 19 Oct 05 11:33 AM

Its is usually used for inanimate objects. Since animals have genders, it can be common to say "that dog-dish is hers" more often that "that dog-dish is its."

Some examples:

My car isn't working, its engine is shot.

This website has a lot of information in its forums.

Vorpar

Joined on Tue, Sep 20 2005

Santa Barbara, CA

Regular Member (837)

Genders